Federal Court Sentences Man To 24 Years In Prison

NEWPORT NEWS — A Newport News man was sentenced in federal court to 24 years in prison on drug conspiracy, robbery conspiracy and gun charges - the third man to be sent behind bars in the same set of crimes.

Luqman Muhammad, 25, was arrested in September 2006, as part of the conspiracy involving him and several other men. He signed a plea deal in March in which he agreed to plead guilty to three of the charges in return for eight others being dropped.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Newport News office, Muhammad participated in a conspiracy to rob fellow drug dealers in Newport News and Hampton between July 2002 and December 2003. He admitted participating in a drug-related robbery, and acknowledged distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

U.S. District Court Judge Walter D. Kelley Jr. sentenced Muhammad Tuesday to 17 years in prison for conspiracy to obstruct commerce by robbery through actual or threatened force. He also got 17 years on the crack distribution charge and will serve that sentence simultaneously with the robbery charge. He got another seven years, tacked on to the 17, for brandishing a firearm in a crime of violence.

Several other local men have already been sentenced in the case.

One man, Damian Amos, pleaded guilty a year ago and was sentenced in March to 21 years in federal prison. That included 14 years on the robbery conspiracy and cocaine dealing conspiracy charges, as well as another seven years on the firearm charge.

A third man, Leon Nicholson, pleaded guilty to the robbery conspiracy charge a year ago, and was sentenced in February to 10 years in prison.

The U.S. Attorney's office dropped the charges against a fourth defendant in the case, Ramon Rogers, federal records show.